Inclement weather doesn't bother Sliepka
PEORIA -- The weather conditions that greeted runners Saturday at Detweiller Park for the 63rd IHSA State Cross Country Meet were some of the worst in recent memory.
But through the cold, wind, rain and sometimes even a little snow, Christina Sliepka was able to find a few rays of sunshine.
That's because the Oswego senior, in her third trip Downstate, capped her career with a sixth-place finish in the Class 2A race. That was good enough to earn All-State honors and marked an improvement of 50 places over her finish here a year ago.
In the race won by Margo Richardson of Mt. Vernon in 17:41, Sliepka ran a solid race and was well in the top-10 for the entire three-mile run. Though she had hoped to break the 18-minute barrier, her time of 18:00 on the nose missed her goal by one second, but it didn't seem to matter as a smile crept onto her face in the race's final 50 meters.
"When I first heard the forecast and that it was supposed to rain, I (was concerned)," she said. "But than I thought, whatever, it will probably be fun. It wasn't really that bad, I thought the wind would be a factor but I really didn't notice it."
Joining Sliepka on the All-State list was Yorkville senior Krysten Sebby. Sebby, who was part of a Foxes' squad that finished 12th with 269 points, came home in 20th place in 18:26.
"I felt like I could have done better, but in the end I left everything out there and that's all we could have done," Sebby said. "I'm glad I made All-State because it's a huge accomplishment to have.
"Our goal (as a team) was to make it down here and some of the girls ran personal bests, and we had fun."
Alicyn Hester was 58th for the Foxes in 19:06, while Esther Bell placed 81st in 19:32.
Springfield Sacred Heart Griffin won the team title in 2A for the second consecutive year with 87 points, while Crystal Lake Central (90 points) and East Peoria (99) were second and third, respectively.
In the boys 2A race, Kaneland finished eighth with 220 points while Yorkville was 10th with 247. Dixon used three runners in the top 11 to score 94 points and just squeak past Belvidere North (98 points) for top honors.
In the race won by Rock Island's Tim Hurd in 14:59, Matt Reusche from Kaneland earned an All-State nod by finishing 20th in a time of 15:34. Teammate Paul Davies was 47th in 15:58 and Dominic Furco following up in 52nd place in 16:01.
Jake Austin led the Yorkville contingent, placing 29th in 15:49 to just miss All-State by four places. Max Silwa was 48th in 15:59 and Mike Addison 74th in 16:16.
In the girls Class A race, Aurora Christian, making its third straight trip Downstate as a team, put together a team score of 312 to place 14th. Winnebago won its fourth straight team title with 115 points, just ahead of Elmwood (119 points) and Rockford Lutheran (133).
Kelly Curran of Bloomington Central Catholic earned the individual championship in 17:27, a full 16 seconds ahead of Sarah Kortze of Rockford Lutheran.
Sarina Oleson led the Eagles with a 31st-place finish in 18:59. It was a bit of a disappointing day for the freshman, who had been hoping for a spot in the top 25.
"I felt tired all day, but God got me through it," Oleson said. "It was cold, but you don't really think about it, you just run your race."
Senior Kaitlin Bellak was the second ACHS finisher, placing 42nd in 19:10, with Amy Berger finishing 76th in 19:57.
No local representatives competed in the Class 1A boys race, which was won by Sean Smith of Winnebago in 15:03, while Blake Delong of Hillsboro was the runner-up in 15:14.
Elmwood had 109 points to claim the team title, Westmont placed second (123 points) and Winnebago third (149). Class 1A and 2A Cross Country State Finals
